3. Practical Demonstration
It was the ankle-length robes worn by apprentices, mages and clergy alike that caused Talitha to trip and tumble down the flight of stone steps linking the first and second floors of the Tower. At least, that was her version of events and she was sticking to it. She was careful to leave out the fact that she had been running late for lessons again which had led to her attempting to negotiate the Tower's curving stairways faster than was perhaps safe.
But Talitha was loath to admit to falling down a flight of stairs because she had been running around like a small out of control child rather than walking at a measured pace more befitting a young adult.
Besides, the hem of her robes had impaired the movements of her ankles and had at least contributed to her losing her footing, resulting in her tumbling halfway down the flight of stairs, coming to rest on the hard and unyielding stones of the first floor. In the young woman's mind, the sounds of the fall had been almost comical.
Thud-Ow!-Thump!-Maker's Blood!-Thud,thump, thud-That felt like a rib breaking! Finally, her head rapped the stone floor with such force that starbursts of brilliant colour bloomed momentarily before her eyes. The starbursts faded, only to be replaced by a creeping blackness that encroached on the edges of her vision.
Talitha lay on the cold flagstones, dazed and in some pain. Her right cheek pressed solidly against the floor and was it just her imagination or was that a trickle of blood coming from her hairline? Seemingly from a great distance, the sound of foot falls impinged on her half-conscious state. Talitha managed to open her eyes enough to see the slightly scuffed toes of leather boots protruding from beneath the hem of Chantry robes.
Slowly, Talitha shifted her head and looked upward, gaze travelling past the boots to the familiar face of their owner. The movement of her head and neck was not without cost, however as a sharp pain scythed through her skull. "Ohhhh," she groaned, face half-numb from where it was pressing into the floor.
"Maker's Blood!" the owner of the boots said, half in concern and half in amazement. "You certainly know how to make a grand entrance."
"Nice to see you too, Alistair," Talitha managed to say though she found it difficult to form the words. That would be due to the swelling of your jaw a voice in her mind helpfully pointed out.
"We should get you to the healers," Alistair said as he went down on one knee beside the apprentice mage. The novice Templar looked from where Talitha lay before him to the curving flight of stairs. "You fell from all the way up there?" he marvelled.
When the apprentice didn't answer, Alistair asked, "Are you able to walk?" Maker have mercy on her, but this looks bad.
Give me a break, Talitha thought but didn't say, I can barely move! However, knowing she couldn't remain at the bottom of the stairs lest somebody mistake her for a doormat, the apprentice slowly rose to her hands and knees, limbs shaking, pains both dull and acute making their presence felt. The movements of her upper body made what had been a dull ache in her right side flare into white-hot pain as though a sadistic hand had run a silver sword of mercy between her ribs.
A few drops of blood fell from her forehead to land on the grey flagstones beneath her face. Talitha's brown eyes blinked a few times as she deduced that those spots of blood had, in fact, originated from inside her own head. "Maker's teeth," she half-moaned then gasped as strong arms gently but firmly helped her to stand upright. The whole of Thedas seemed to tilt alarmingly on its axis before settling back into place.
Slowly Alistair and the battered apprentice made their way along the halls, bearing towards the rooms used by the Tower's healers. As they walked, Alistair kept up a stream of soothing talk. "I fell down a flight of stairs once," Alistair said cheerfully, "I was playing tag with another boy in the Chantry and just lost my balance on the steps." Alistair paused and, when he spoke again, his voice turned musing, "Or maybe the other boy tripped me."
"Wait, wait, stop!" Talitha spoke rapidly as an idea, perhaps inspired, perhaps simply the result of her head injury came to her. "Take me to Senior Enchanter Tobias instead!"
Alistair, still supporting the apprentice with one arm, turned his head to look at her. Though the girl's face was ashen with obvious pain, her eyes seemed clear enough. "He's in class at the moment," Alistair replied, trying to work out what Talitha was up to.
"That's what I'm counting on," Talitha said in a tone that would brook no argument.
---
Jowan covered a yawn with one hand, while the fingers of the other hand drummed rapidly against the surface of his desk. Tobias was, as usual, droning on about...something, Jowan honestly didn't know what. Tobias could have made something exciting sound boring and he made things that Jowan already found boring even more so. He sighed, eyeing his fellow students. They too wore a look that suggested they were on the verge of falling asleep with their eyes open.
"And so by channelling mana, a skilled healer can bring back a person from the very brink of death itself," Tobias intoned.
But no amount of mana-channelling could bring us back from the very brink of dying of boredom!
Jowan looked up as a pair of robed figures entered the room - one clad in a Chantry robe, the other in rumpled-looking apprentice robes. With some surprise, Jowan noted the apprentice was Talitha. Jowan further noted the blood drying on her forehead and the general set of her body as though even the slightest movement pained her.
Senior Enchanter Tobias halted mid-drone as that young upstart Alistair and the accident-prone Talitha entered the room. A low murmur rippled through the assembled apprentices at this unexpected development in an otherwise lustreless session. Tobias silenced the murmurs with a single wordless glare at his young charges before turning his attention to the pair at the door.
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Tobias demanded, arms crossed over his chest, eyes the colour of used dishwater narrowing at the pair before him.
"Well, Ser Mage," Alistair began, "The young lady here took a tumble down a flight of steps and-"
Tobias silenced him with a glare and a raised hand, "Then take the foolish child to a healer! Why bring her here?"
Talitha's mouth gaped slightly as another low murmur began throughout the students. Foolish....child? "If it pleases the Senior Enchanter," she began, wincing slightly at the pain in her side and struggling to keep her voice level, "I have often heard the students discussing how much they would appreciate the chance to practice the arts of healing magic in a more practical fashion."
Stepping carefully away from Alistair, Talitha hobbled to the front of the class, feeling aches in muscles she never knew she had until now. Talitha held her arms out by her side, trying to ignore the spots of blood on the front of her robe and said, "I offer myself as a practical demonstration."
Tobais snorted in disdain, "This is absurd! These students barely possess the will to heal a simple scratch, much less multiple contusions and-"
Alistair cleared his throat, not bothering to suppress the grin on his face, "Why, one would get the impression that you lack confidence in your pupils and your own teaching methods...Ser Mage." A number of the apprentices, Jowan among them, laughed softly. Oh, later they would all pay for this in spades. For now, this little diversion was the most interesting thing to happen during a Creation lesson since...ever, in Jowan's experience.
Tobias' eyes went so wide, they seemed about ready to fall from their sockets . "This is outrageous! The Grand Cleric will hear about this! I'll not have some impudent boy speak to me so. And you," Tobias levelled a finger at Talitha, "You do yourself and the Circle no favours at all with your antics!"
Jowan felt compelled to speak out in support of Talitha, "But Senior Enchanter," he began and almost wished he had kept silent, given the look Tobias aimed at him. Jowan gulped and forged ahead, "How can we learn to become better healers if we do not have the opportunity to practice our skills?"
The other students nodded in agreement, and a chant of "Practice! Practice! Practice!" began from somewhere up the back and was quickly taken up by the entire class. By the door, Alistair laughed softly, glancing at Talitha. Bloodied but unbowed, she stood before the class, surprised by this turn of events.
Tobias threw up his hands in disgust, "Fine!" he snapped, running a hand through greying hair, "Do what you will but I want no part of it! If something should go wrong, be it upon your heads!" The harried Senior Enchanter swept an arm to include both Alistair and Talitha before stamping out of the room, muttering a litany of curses.
"Well," Alistair said brightly even as the enraged mage pushed past him, "Seems like you're in charge of the class, now."
Talitha blinked, surprised. "Me?" she asked weakly. The students nodded, faces rapt. Talitha looked over at Alistair; the novice Templar nodded encouragingly.
"You should probably do something about that head injury first," he suggested, tapping an identical spot on his own forehead.
Talitha placed a hand to her head and found the blood had mostly dried; a few dark red flakes clung to her fingers. "Right," she said, forcing herself to sound more confident than she was, "Who wants to heal the cut in my head?" Twenty-five students raised their hands, faces keen and eager to begin. It was a show of enthusiasm the likes of which was rarely seen within the Tower's confines.
Talitha pointed at Jowan - had he not spoken up in her defence, they'd not have this chance at all. In his haste to test himself, Jowan pushed his chair back so quickly it fell over. Standing beside Talitha, Jowan asked, "Does that hurt very much?"
"I fell down a flight of stairs, Jowan," Talitha said, not unkindly, "What do you think?"
Jowan raised his right hand as though to stroke Talitha's hair, holding it just over the cut in her head. A warm soothing glow enveloped Jowan's hand and illuminated Talitha's head in an almost angelic aura. The other apprentices oohed and aahed as the light shimmered and the gash in Talitha's head simply vanished, leaving no trace other than the already-dried blood.
Jowan returned to his seat, a self-congratulatory smile on his face. Talitha waited until the class settled down before asking for another volunteer. Talitha held a hand to her side, below her right breast and asked the question she already knew the answer to, "Who wants to try healing my ribs?"
Every boy in class raised his hand, eagerly waving them in the air. A few even called out, "Pick me! Pick me!" Standing by Talitha, Alistair chuckled to himself.
Ignoring the boys entirely, Talitha saw an elven girl about her own age seated at the back of the class and walked up the aisle between two rows of desks until she stood before her. "What's your name?" she asked the elf. The elf turned wide blue eyes up at her and answered shyly, "Alliara."
Talitha smiled, hoping to put the girl at ease, "That's a nice name. Does it mean something?"
The elf blinked at her and shrugged, "It means Alliara." The elf rose from her seat and followed Talitha to the front of the room.
A boy called out, "Why are picking her instead of one of us?"
Talitha smiled. "Because I can trust her to not accidentally brush a hand across my chest whilst healing my ribs is why."
The boys groaned, disappointed. Alistair smiled at Talitha, "Hey," he said, "You can't blame a man for trying."
Talitha shook her head as Alliara performed a laying on of hands. "Don't encourage them."